Kyle Maynard Is Coming to MMA
(Guess who's not impressed by Franky Van Hove.)
Kyle Maynard – the former collegiate wrestler/congenital amputee with no arms past the elbow and no legs past the knee – will soon make his amateur MMA debut. If the name sounds familiar it’s because Maynard’s almost ridiculously inspirational story of overcoming his disability and wrestling at the University of Georgia has spread far and wide by now, and he even won an ESPY award in 2004 for “Best Athlete With A Disability.”
Now he trains at the Hardcore Gym in Athens, Georgia and has been saying for the past couple of years that he wants to get into MMA, but was denied a license to fight in Georgia. Apparently he faced no such issue in Alabama, because he’ll be competing at Auburn Fight Night on April 25.
A lot of people are going to say it’s crazy and maybe even dangerously negligent to let a guy with no hands or feet into a fight where his opponent is allowed to punch him in the face.
Here’s the thing: screw those people. Do a quick YouTube search and you’ll see he knows what he’s doing on the mat. He’s not some guy off the street, which is more than you can honestly say for Ross Clifton. Maynard trains at an MMA gym, and one assumes he has a plan for how he’s going to deal with the striking game (a plan I’m really interested to see put into action, BTW).
So to hell with Georgia, for not licensing him, and to hell with the people who think he shouldn’t fight. He’s going to fight, and we’re just glad not to be the poor schmuck who has to face him. Not only would that guy get booed if he just started teeing off on Maynard, there is also the very real possibility that Maynard will totally own his ass, like he did to this dude.
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jewtitsu Says:
first
Brandon Says:
Sign of the Apocalypse 637
Anonymous Says:
3RD
CG Says:
He'll at least be more exciting than Gray Maynard.
portland mma Says:
I bet his striking is better than Clay Guidas.
Josh Aint Thug Says:
let's hope his elbows are as vicious as KenFlo's, and his knees are as devastating as Anderson Silva's
SantanaDVX Says:
What division you think he will fight in?
MMA FAN Says:
Allright, I've seen the video and i don't want to disrespect him. He is a living inspiration but seriously if u had to fight him, would u kick him in the head? punch gim?
It's defenetly not good for the sport but i guess it depends on how u look at it.
Goog Says:
I'm curious. He looks awesome. But other than knocking him out and guillotine or rear naked choking him, how can you beat him? No kimuras, leg locks, armbars, etc. How's this work? And what weight class will he be in? Maybe it says somewhere... I only watched the clip.
Go for it, dude.
Dante Says:
Someone is going to tear his limbs off... oh wait.
Dakyn Says:
lol, well he CAN do Amatuer MMA because he'll pretty much always be on the mat so there won't even be a "striking game" right?
When he is "standing up" he is pretty much laying down for all accounts so there won't be any striking - and depending upon what level of amatuer fight it is going to be depends on whether there is striking to the head on the ground or not.
In straight up BJJ he is actually immune to Arm-bars, head/arm chokes, knee bars, achilles locks, heel-hooks, kimuras, Peruvian neck-ties... I would say Triangle chokes but if the other guy is fast and gets their own arm in there they might stand a chance...
Besides that what does it leave? Gogo platas, RNC's and ...TKO via body-strikes...
I'd like to know what smack-head thought "Yea i'll fight a guy with no limbs, sounds like a laugh..." Seriously that's lose-lose. If you win you beat up a guy with no arms and legs and if you lose you got owned by a guy who couldn't even punch you...
Dakyn Says:
@CG and Portland MMA - lol.
Ernie Says:
That guy he was wrestling was so confused how to handle it. You could tell he had him completely stumped.
d0zer Says:
Junie would be pissed. ANOTHER boring wrestler.
Anonymous Says:
Inspirational but Sad. It's tradgedy that a young man like him has a heart so big and we still have Americans that are too lazy to get off their lazy butt and go to work.
durrrrrr Says:
Dana needs to make a fight with this guy and BJ " cry me a river " Penn as soon as possible. That way BJ will finally get use out of his " He turned into a basketball !! " defense after failing to make the 3rd round due to being fat and not training.
Levi Says:
The problem isn't that it's "crazy" for him to compete. The problem is that the rules don't apply the same. You can never kick him in the head because he's never standing. What if the ref wants to stand the fight up? Should he be DQ'ed for ignoring the ref's commands? There's nothing to gain by competing against this guy. If you win, you're a jerk and if you lose, you're an embarassment.
Long Nuts Himself Says:
How the fuck would this guy injure anyone?
Mr.Whitefolks Says:
I'm all for it. this could end really bad for Maynard. but hey who knows.
Anonymous Says:
will kicks and knee's to a grounded opponent be allowed, because he will technically be a grounded/ downed opponent the whole fight
jmac Says:
Watch out fedor
Dante Says:
SPINNING BACK NUBBBBBBS!
Me Says:
So whoever fights this guy is fucked. I mean you can't kick him in the head because his knee is down and you can't armbar, shoulder lock, kneebar, triangle choke or really any other sub besides neck only's. You can't keep him from passing guard and you you can't sweep him.
The only thing you could do is grab him by his stubs and slam him into the floor/cage until he Arona's out.
Also, what weight class would he compete in? Should they make a special division for people like him? Isn't Corey Hill the interim champ of that division?
This should not happen for so many reasons. Some of those reasons are the same ones for not fighting a girl, though we saw what happens with that.
Ballentine Says:
You never know taking a nub to the head might hurt pretty bad.
Ballentine Says:
I would fight him for his handicap sticker.
suge white Says:
i agree it is not good for the sport. he is a bad ass for even trying tho. to me it would be lose lose situation. kinda like fighting a girl or a retarted person. i wrestled a kid with downs syndrome in high school i pined him and the whole crowd boooooed me. so that pretty much sucked. if i fought him i would head kick him and knock him out. no matter what you do your gonna get boooed. might aswell get a ko on your record.
Dagnut Says:
who's gonna fight him? In all honesty I'd rather beat up a woman..imagine the shame of winning...
perdew Says:
holy shit. it is almost impossible to triangle him. he passes guard so easily. i'm sorry but he's a little more herky jerky or hard to figure out than jardine or machida.
perdew Says:
winner: Kyle Maynard by barely arm triangle
Tom Says:
The upside, he could be the first ever mma champion in the 70 lb division
Spanky Says:
I wonder how big his sleeping cage is....
Officer Farva Says:
wow....simply wow....this is a total and complete freakshow....
On a serious note, this is extreamly dangerous for him and i wish him no harm. but lets be honesnst....he is going to get his face smashed in and the poor sap who does it is going to get boo'd like he was BJ "my momma's got my back" Penn.
Dana White Says:
"Do you wanna be a fucking quadriplegic?!?!?!?!"
John Phenomenon Says:
to everyone wondering how to beat him: punch him in the face.
how can he stop you? he has no arms or hands!
not to sound like a dick, but come on. how will this guy submit anyone or win other than a decision?
TKO via hammer stumps? doubtful.
Bootylam! Says:
Why does everybody have to do everything? There's obviously no way he'll truly go anywhere with this, but oh well. Couldn't you beat him by repeated slams? And suge whites right, it's a no win situation for his opponent. Shit, people HATED me in 7th grade because I knocked out a deaf kid. He was bigger than me and sucker punched me, had no physical disability besides being deaf, but they still said it was unfair. No win situation.
hot dog feet Says:
I'll fight that dude in a heart beat. I'll fuckin knock his ass out!!...I got him beat by a mile in height, reach, weight, power....his name will be matt when Im done with him......I wonder what his submissions are like??.......The only thing he could do is bite a hole in his opponents flesh.....I would get him in a rear naked, easy. Dunski!!.....I wonder if he has a huge taint??.........
NinJay Says:
Ernie: he looked Stumped.........ahahahaha good one. I laugh because i'm an asshole and other peoples pain is my pleasure. It almost seems that he would have an advantage on the ground in a pure wrestling game. Since he doesn't have those always bothersome arms and legs weighing him down. His upper body strength is going to be much greater than someone in his weight class. All joking aside....i wouldn't want to mess with him.
I Know Nothing Says:
Finally someone Urijah can look eye-to-eye to with.
j Says:
It is really interesting because with all his limbs ending at the elbows/knees, a lot of the fighting systems have to be remodelled.
If you had that guy your guard, he can pull himself up and mount you.
WASAAA Says:
Since they're already sadistic by letting him compete, the comission should enforce PRIDE footstomp rules as well.
NewDawnFades Says:
Why does everybody feel like they have to do everything? MMA is clearly not for this guy. It's an unfair fight and all the advantages are his ironically enough. But he's still going to get punched in the face a bunch of times because that's all you need to do. Keep your distance, lean down and punch him to submission. If I was reffing this fight i'd be majorly concerned for his safety.
Promotions are just going to take advantage of him for publicity and appeal to the circus freak crowd. I admire the guys desire but not everyone is cut out for MMA.
dingo warrior Says:
lmao im sorry, but no. this isnt ground grappling, leave it to ALABAMA to sanction a guy with no arms 'n legs to compete in an event where you can use both to knock your opponent unconcious
the fucks this guy gonna do even if he does overcome the ginormous feat of getting punted into the fence, take you down and massage your face?
Lil' Doomsday Says:
I live in Georgia, and went to UGA. I was there when he was there, but...listen...the kid obviously is an inspiration and is owed his respect, but I heard he was kind of a douche. Also, Georgia > Cage POtato. >:o
portland mma Says:
Ballentine as fucked up as your first comment was it made me crack up and since I'm at the office and I can't in a politically correct way explain why.
Ricky Says:
can you kick the little fucker? i guess not in the head since his knees are down!
Ample Says:
@ Portland
Even though you are pretty stupid when it comes to a fighters game plan and why their style works for them, ill admit your comment was funny. Good job buddy
Kaibo Says:
Ernie gets comment of the week.
Also, this is a terrible idea. He'll only ever win out of pity - he has no way to protect his face? He starts a fight without intelligent defense.
dingo warrior Says:
lmao@ starting without intelligent defense
seriously, maybe alabama should invite him to explore his athleticism in a swim meet next
Lil' Doomsday Says:
And just to clarify, I'm not saying he shouldn't get his fair chance to compete...and I like a feel good-defying the odds-makes me feel lazy story just like the next dude, Cage Potato writer, but what happens if he does fight a competent mma fighter and the guy (or girl) destroys him and he is laying there ktfo and everyone is kinda like, "What the fuck did we just pay to see?"? Don't care for, usually, what the media says about MMA. Didn't even particularly care when Fox News or whatever went off about some school sanctioning "cage fights" and blaming MMA...but a knocked out and bloodied dude with no arms and no legs is NOT good for the sport. But we have to be politically correct, so forget common sense.
dingo warrior Says:
kyle maynard v. kalib starnes